Pessary



E. A. JONES Dec. 8, 1959 PESSARY Filed Sept. 16, 1957 f 2,916,035 Fatented Dec. 8, 1959 PESSARY Edmund A. Jones, Somerville, NJ., assigner to Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application September 16, 1957, Serial No. 684,077

6 Claims. (Cl. 12S-127) This invention relates to arcing vaginal .diaphragms and is also applicable to pessaries of the open-ring type. More particularly, the present invention relates to the metal assembly within the vulcanized rim portion of an arcing vaginal diaphragm.

Common types of diaphragm andring pessaries comprise a rim and connected membrane or a ring alone covered by rubber 'latex or other suitable plastic. It has lgenerally r`been customary to vemploy a closed Vcoil spring to form the ring .of .a pessary.' This type of construction provides suicient flexibility to enable the pessary to be deformed or folded to facilitate its insertion into the vagina. It is a disadvantage of this type of construction, however, that when the pessary is folded for insertion, its rim lies essentially in a single plane. For this reason, the coil spring pessary is unwieldy and difficult to insert by hand. In addition, the flexibility resulting from this type of construction may not afford adequate support for the vaginal wall. A pessary having this structure is diiiicult to position around the cervix when, as is often the case, the cervix is found to be substantially in contact with the vaginal wall.

Attempts have been made to avoid the disadvantages recited above by stiffening opposing sections of the coil spring ring. When two opposing sections of the ring are relatively stiff, pressure against these sections will cause folding to occur at two localized diametrically opposed points where the coiled spring is not stiiiened. Under these circumstances, the doubled rim is bowed or arched and is more readily tted.

To stiifen opposing sections of the rim, two wire inserts may be disposed within the closed coil spring ring. It is diicult, however, to prevent shifting of the wire inserts and insure that the wire inserts maintain their distance apart during the manufacture of the pessaries and in later use. Usually it is necessary to rigidly secure the wire inserts to the spring by welding or soldering. ln some instances, a rubber block or a small coil spring is interposed between the ends of the wire insert to prevent any shifting of the wire inserts under compression. It is a disadvantage of the wire inserts that they may be bent during use, the circular shape of the pessary thereby being altered. s

It is an object of this invention to provide an arcing diaphragm of simplified construction.

It is another object of this invention to provide a pessary core of minimum weight having two diametrically opposed rigid sections separated by two diametrically opposed flexible sections of equal length.

The invention will be better understood upon reference to the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view partly in section of a three-part pessary rim constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the pessary illustrated in Figure 1. In this figure, the metallic ele- 2 ments of Figure 1 have been completely covered `with `a rubber coating.

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view along the line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional viewalong the line 4 4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the spring structure ,of a pessary and illustrates a modilcation vof the present invention.

Referring now to Figure l, there is shown laipessaryvrim constructed of three parts. A coiled spring 11 is .slipped through two semicircular `tubular sleeves `13 and`14 to form a ring. The ends of the spring 11 .are abutted :at point 12. The parts in the rim .thus consist of a coiled wire spring surrounded and held in position by two tubular members or sleeves. These sleeves have an internaldiameter only slightly greater than the external diameter y.of the coiled spring and thus prevent slippage `of lthefsprill'g within the tubes prior to molding. The radius of .curvature of the ytubular members 13 .and '14 will vary with the diameter of the pessary, which may be from about 55 to I m m. in diameter. The length .of these tubular members is such that the unrestricted (uncovered) spring sec- ;tions are ,between about .11A inches and 1?/8 inches. l

While the specific dimensions of the three elements making up the pessary ring may vary, a satisfactory coil spring may be constructed of 0.029 inch steel wire wound 22 turns to the inch, the external diameter of this spring being 0.091 inch. The tubular members employed with this coil spring may also be made of metal with an outside diameter of 1/s inch and an inside diameter of 0.094 inch.

In assembling the diaphragm, the two curved tubular sections are slipped over the coil spring which is then curved in the form of a ring with the ends of the coil spring abutting. One then slides the abutting ends of the coil spring Within the tubular sleeve by moving the sleeve with reference to the coil spring. The second tubular sleeve is then moved around the coil until equal sections of the uncovered spring are exposed between the ends of ythe sleeve sections.

In another modification of the present invention illustrated in Figure 5, the ends of the coil spring, in addition to being butted, are fixed by a short pin 16 having a radius of curvature identical with the coil spring and tubular segments. As illustrated in Figure 5, the external diameter of this pin approximates the internal diameter of the coil spring. The friction lit between the pin and the spring holds the ends of the spring together while sliding the tubular member over the abutting ends.

The three-piece assembly illustrated in Figure 1 may be covered with a uniform and continuous coating of rubber or plastic by conventional molding procedures. During this molding process, the spring sections 10 and 11 are completely embedded in the rubber or plastic material 15 (see Figure 3). The rubber coating permanently locks the tubular sections 13 and 14 in position and prevents these members from shifting their relative position. The pessary so obtained may be vulcanized around its upper edge or otherwise secured to a sheet of soft rubber to form an occlusive diaphragm.

It is an outstanding advantage of the construction described above that it is very light in weight. The tubular form combines the utmost strength and rigidity with minimum weight and these tubular members retain `their original shape throughout the life of the diaphragm. The three-piece construction is of utmost simplicity Vand is adapted to rapid assembly at a low cost.

I have described that which I believe to be the best embodiments of my invention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiments shown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims. I l

What is claimed is:

1. A pessary comprising a single coil spring curved and 'positioned vend to end to form a'rin'g; a first arcuate tubular member characterized by a chord less thanlthe diameter 'of said"rir'igsurrounding adjacent ends 'ofu'said spring; a second arcuate tubular member of the said dimensions as `the rst arcuate tubular member positioned Von the coil spring to expose substantially equal portions of the Tsaid springlbetvveen adjacent Yends of the rst vand'second arcuate tubular members.

2. A pessary comprising a single coil spring curved and positioned end to end to form a ring; a rst arcuate tubular member vcharacterized by a chord less than the diameter of said ring surrounding adjacent ends of said spring; `a second arcuate tubular member of the said dimensions as the rst arcuate tubular member positioned on the coil spring to expose substantially equal portions of the said spring between adjacent ends of the irst and second arcu- Tatetubular members, and a exible impermeable coating surrounding said ring. l 3. In a pessary, a pair of arcuate vtubular members; a single helical spring forming a ring upon which saidarcuate tubular members are located; the ends of said helical spring being adjacent and intermediatethe ends -of onev of said arcuate tubular members.

4. In a pessary, a pair of arcuate tubular members; a

Y2,916,035 I, l H y Y V4 single helical spring forming a ring upon Which said arcuate tubular members are located; the ends of said helical spring being adjacent and intermediate the ends of one of said arcuate tubular members, a exible m- 5 permeable coating surrounding said ring and a diaphragm portion also of flexible impermeable material extending over the area of the ring, f

5. An occlusive arcing vaginal diaphragm comprising a flexible impermeable membrane and a eXible imlO permeable rim for the membrane, said rim having a coil spring shaped to form a ring, tubular sleeves surround'- ing said spring with their ends equally spaced from'each other at opposite sides of the ring.

6. An annular pessary including a single helical spring 15 and a pair of arcuate tubular sleeves surrounding said spring, the ends of said spring being abutted and positioned intermediate the ends of one of said tubular sleeves and the ends of each sleeve being equally spaced from the ends ofthe other.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Switzerland Sept. 16, 1933 

